Our Authors
Jasmina Coric
Gallery Tour Through Grey Matter, Fire of the Blood
Jasmina is a London native but, despite having the city at her fingertips growing up, was endlessly fascinated by books, mythology, and stories instead. She was often scolded in school for trying to read under the table during class, but this did little to dissuade her. Her love of literature was encouraged from a young age when, at the age of four, her mother gave her a copy of short stories inspired by Shakespeare. At age seven, she read The Hobbit and fell in love with fantasy, however that has not kept her from enjoying literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction as well. The combination of Tolkien and Shakespeare was crucial in developing her own writing style, which features poetical prose to describe fantastical worlds.
Her fascination with fantasy manifested in her writing at the age of seven, when, in a market in Arezzo, Italy, she found a peculiar ring of ornate metal set with a bead made to look like an eye that could move as if in a socket. After much pleading with her parents, she acquired the ring and proceeded to make her first attempt at writing a book about the ring and the magical properties she imbued it with. Although the book and ring are long lost, Jasmina’s desire to write did not fade with age. She turned her attention primarily to journaling, which eventually evolved into poetry and songwriting, the latter of which is often inspired by Ted Hughes translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Finally, in her late teens, she began drafting her first novel, Fire of the Blood.
Jasmina pursued her love of writing by taking an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing and English Literature, where she wrote In a Nut’s Shell, a second person memoir of her formative years. Both in this book and her poetry, she recurringly found herself drawn to themes of mental health, grief, loss, and trauma, and eventually they found their way into Fire of the Blood, which is not only a fantasy book, but an exploration of trauma, survival, and mental illness.
Currently, Jasmina is completing a MA in Contemporary Literature while continuing to write her fantasy series. She lives in London with her dog, a Shiba Inu named Cleopawtra Queen of Shibgypt, who she credits with being the inspiration for all the terrible and vicious beasts from her books. Her second book and the sequel to Fire of the Blood, Pale Flame, will be released later this year.
David F. Balog
Necromancer’s Lament
David F. Balog was born, raised, and still lives in the Greater Cleveland area with his cat. He grew up in the libraries of Lakewood and Parma, and his babysitters were the creatures of the Cleveland Aquarium. Ever inquisitive, he dove deeply into science, paranormal studies, mathematics, and mythology at an early age, and never let go of the idea that they, and other studies, were all interlinked
His fascination with fables and mythology led him first to Dungeons & Dragons, then other role-playing games. Through them, he learned to hone his talent for character creation, world building, and storytelling. Over time, basic concepts became fully realised and years spent developing a single character gave time for depth.
Years later, David would attend Cuyahoga Community College, Ursuline College, and Cleveland State University, eventually earning a Bachelors’ Degree in both History and Social Studies, and a Master’s Degree in History. All through his studies, he continued to focus on the theology, mythology, and fables and how they connected societies throughout time and across regions. Though the stories and characters change, David found that the underlying themes always remained the same: primarily, the constant striving of individuals to become better people.
At long last, David felt it was time to contribute his own stories and mythologies to the public consciousness. With the experience of developing characters and worlds combined with writing numerous research papers, David began work on his first novel: Necromancer’s Lament, the first in a planned trilogy.